Yes - hardiness info on Lantana is confusing. Seems the growers usually cite zones where the plants remain evergreen, though it appears they can be root hardy much further north. There are several posts on GW that mention success with unsheltered l. camera, l. montevidensis, l. urticoides (horrida) or their hybrids well into zone 7 (ex. Hardy Lantanas).

Our native Texas lantana (l. urticoides) does fine on the 8b 8a side of Dallas DFW. The the non-native trailing l. montevidensis is supposed to be a bit more cold tolerant than l. camera.

This post was edited by bostedo on Mon, Aug 5, 13 at 22:51

There is different climate zones inside Dallas?

Yes - Dallas proper is only 8a, but a good portion of what's generally thought of as DFW is 7b. I just got back from three days of looking at plants and visiting nurseries in 8b and am apparently still disoriented.

Clemson University has some great info on lantana cultivars, several of which are perennial in South Carolina where much of the state falls in the same 7b/8a zones of north central Texas; here are links to an article and a video.

Here is a link that might be useful: Obsolete: Texas plant hardiness zone map

This post was edited by bostedo on Thu, Aug 8, 13 at 15:23

Although, I do want to mention that the USDA updated their zone mappings for the US and put Zone 8a all the way to the Oklahoma border.

Here is a link that might be useful:

This is off the cold hardiness topic but I am noticing the small cultivars don't seem to take dry soil, or maybe its the heat, like the ground cover types or the larger natives. I've decided I'm not buying these any more because they look like corporate "bedding plants" to me. Thats fine if your garden is a different style but they visually don't go with my native landscape at all, they look too artificially formal and neat by contrast.

I'll just chime in and say that my l. urticoides (horrida) made it through the winter unaided with no extra protection. It died back to the ground, but once it sprouted new growth in the spring I cut the old branches off. It's also doing fine through this heat wave, blooming right now in fact. A lot of my non-natives have been biting the dust this last week or two, so this week has been a good reminder to keep both the low and high temps in mind when planting, I guess, or just accept that wimpy plants die in August.

I never know what cultivars I have, but sometimes they come back from root and sometimes they don't. Just plan for them to die completely, but be happy if they come back. Plan for the worst, but hope for the best, I guess.

My DH planted some common Lantana purchased from HD or Lowes, and it comes back every year in Zone 9a, near Hobby Airport...

I am in South central Kansas (zone 6b) and I have experience with some unknown cultivar of Lantana camara. It re-sprouts from the roots each spring. I always thought it needed shelter from the north wind, but my friend has one with no protection and it re-sprouted this spring. I do know that lantana can be tempermental some years. It may come back a few years in a row and then for some reason not come back. This happened to someone I know in Oklahoma with his Goldmound lantana.

I have 4 kinds that have survived for many years.
They die back in the winter, but grow back in spring
Dallas Red
a pink/yellow one
orange/golden yellow one
white one

I did lose a lavender and gold one last winter.

I purchased Sonset Lantana, spelled with an "o" (not to be confused with Spreading Sunset Lantana), this spring. They are supposed to be as hardy as Miss Huff Lantana. I planted them on the south side of my house, so I expect them to return next spring. They are seedless.

I have a couple of lantanas (Texas gold and confetti) that come back every year but neither are evergreen. I don't mulch or protect them in any way. I got seeds from a horrida in Vernon, TX. I don't recall if it is evergreen there, but it comes back every year.

My lantana in my yard survived our Texas winter. I have the confetti and a yellow and an orange. Sorry don't know the specific names but they came up everywhere in our yard.

I've wanted to give them a shot myself but have been unsure how they would fare in my neck o' the woods. And yes, DFW is mostly 8a but pockets of 7b are scattered in parts of zone 8a. The area of Fort Worth that I am in falls on or near one of those pockets, which is why my profile here says 7b/8a. Add to that heavy, clay, alkaline soil and a history of oak wilt and other tree diseases in my neighborhood and I've got a party on my hands!

Last year, L. horrida survived transplanting from gallon pot to landscape in NW Arkansas (6b) in October (should have planted it in spring for best hardiness...but I didn't have it then) and despite 3 polar vortex experiences....it survived and budded out as vigorously as it was in the pot this year. I expect good things of it in years to come.

This particular plant was a cutting from one I'd had for 7 years or more at my house in NE Oklahoma (7a).

I can't imagine Dallas having any issues with the native lantana...unless drainage issues.